Founder Collective

Today we are happy to announce that we’ve closed our fourth fund, Founder Collective IV, to continue our mission to build the most aligned VC fund for founders at the seed stage! HT Micah Rosenbloom, David Frankel & Eric Paley https://lnkd.in/dHhs_ik #venturecapital #entrepeneurship #startups #vc #startup #founders #funding #founder #startupsuccess #entrepreneurs

The Death of the Endless Aisle: Why the Future of Retail Is Curated, Not Crowded For the last decade, the “endless aisle” was the mantra of every omnichannel retailer — infinite options, ultimate convenience, and unlimited scroll. But choice is no longer empowering. It’s paralyzing. We’re witnessing a structural shift away from abundance and choice. Over-consumption is out and thoughtful collection/ re-use is in. The AI onslaught demands 'you should know enough about me... so choose for me'. As privacy slips away, we want something in return. We want our AI shoppers to declutter and anticipate our wants and needs. ?? IRL retail is making a comeback — not as inventory hubs, but as immersive, high-touch experiences. Stores today are more like galleries: intentional, beautiful, and edited. ?? Influencers are becoming the new boutique owners — trusted curators of taste, helping consumers navigate not just what to buy, but how to live. ?? Search is dying. In its place? Feeds, personalities, and personalized agents that simplify, recommend, and reduce friction. ??? Menus are shrinking (The Cheesecake Factory is out... tasting menus are in). Shelves are less cluttered. Brands are learning that saying less — and offering less — can mean selling more. ?? Social/ community shopping is pervasive. I buy what my most stylish friends recommend and share with me. Why now? We’re seeing a broader shift toward control, order, and clarity. In an age of rising authoritarianism and algorithmic saturation, people crave boundaries, not boundlessness. The winners in the next retail era won’t be those who offer everything — they’ll be the ones who offer the right thing at just the right moment. Curation is not just a trend. It’s a strategy,a form of trust and a great thing for cash-flow preservation in a world of higher interest rates (that's the retailer in me). Fewer, better and more thoughtful purchases ahead...

Venturing in Public - 3/20/25 -- 3 fundraising "moves" if you're happy (but not thrilled) with a funding offer If you're lucky enough to get an offer to fund your company, but it is below your expectations for $$ in or valuation, you basically have 3 options. Each comes with its own set of pros/cons. At the most basic level, they are .... + Wait: If you have sufficient runway and believe that your metrics will improve, waiting a bit might change the game. This can work well if your existing investors or angels will consider a bridge (usually a smaller interim round). This can be a good option especially if you believe that meaningful milestones are around the corner (e.g. $1M ARR, a big customer closing, key new product release). + Shop: Test the market with what you've got—carefully. VCs say they don't like entrepreneurs to shop their offers, but they know a savvy founder will optimize his/her options. Once you have a term sheet in hand, its best to quickly work the room (e.g. convey to other prospective investors a sense of urgency). You need to be careful not to overplay your hand but most VCs secretly love to try to "win" a competitive deal. + Close: Often times, the best option is the most obvious. Take the money and get back to work. Just remember that your #1 job is creating intrinsic value through your startup. While valuation is very important, it’s not the most important thing and it almost certainly won’t mean the difference between success and failure. More often, WHO you partner with is more important than what price. Like most things, all you need is one solid offer to get it done. Good luck out there! Let me know what other advice you have ....

“Your POS, ERP, CRM should already do this…” Venturing in Public 3-19-25 We frequently encounter startup pitches so straightforward and intuitive that it’s astonishing the product doesn’t already exist. These ideas sound like obvious extensions of established tools—so clear-cut that you assume CRMs, POS systems, or ERPs must surely already address these customer needs. Yet, during diligence, a curious thing happens: you discover that they genuinely don’t. Conversations with customers reinforce that these startups are indeed solving significant problems, presenting major opportunities. But even after recognizing this value, investors often hesitate. The protective moat seems shallow. Won’t the larger incumbents simply replicate these features? It certainly feels easy to do. However, this precise line of thinking led countless VCs to pass on startups like Grammarly, Calendly, DocuSign, and numerous others whose billboards now famously line Highway 280. Billion-dollar opportunities often lie hidden in features that seem too obvious, the things existing products should do—but don’t. The irony is, precisely because they’re obvious, these startups are frequently overlooked and difficult to fund, even as they quietly become indispensable. This often becomes the wedge of a much larger offering and multibillion dollar opportunity. Other examples?

Case Studies or a Case of Zyn—What's the Ultimate B2B Sales Hack in 2025? Venturing in Public 3-18-25 A portfolio company recently hit a wall: they had built incredible B2B software designed for an old-school, blue-collar industry. The had C-level support but needed to get their staff onboarded and using their tool. Then, their head of sales tried something unconventional. He filled a Yeti cooler with cans of Zyn, each stickered with the startup’s logo, and showed up at the customer’s office. Almost overnight, product usage surged and has remained consistently strong. In another example, Brex apparently sent bottles of Champagne to recently funded companies. This led to a 75% conversion rate and hundreds of leads. And since today is Wiz day ;-) they have a meditation app for their customers and prospects at https://www.cisoasis.com/. In 2025 startups are endeavoring to be more agentic, but the solution for many might be being more authentic. What are some hacks you've seen?

Venturing in Public - 3/17/25: Investing in AI – General platforms and models or specialized solutions? TL;DR: I’m not sure! And I’d bet there will be billion-dollar companies in both buckets, but here’s how I’m thinking about the state of the market. + Specialized AI Tools ? Pros: - Out-of-the-box Utility - Tailored UIs - Domain-specific training - Integration with legacy systems - Potentially cost-effectiveness in specific use cases ? Cons: - Subscription sprawl? - Limited potential for cross-functional insights - May be prematurely optimized relative to general models + Generalized AI Platforms ? Pros: - Centralized access - Cross-functional insight potential - Reduced vendor risk ? Cons: - Higher overall cost - IT access control concerns - Long-term business model and focus still TBD If the Sam Altman’s of the world are right, we might be on the cusp of a new era of humanity thanks to AGI/ASI. If that’s the case, debating platform vs. point solutions might be as relevant as 19th century industrialists discussing whether wheelwright or blacksmith was the job of the future. That said, if AI follows the pattern of most other tech waves, there will likely be a few dominant platforms and a bevy of niche B2B applications. Maybe I need to ask AI which AI tools will win ??♂?

I’ve been writing a lot about efficient fundraising strategies and the importance of carving out space for optionality. Making sure you have a clear line of sight to the next stage is critical—so you make the next turn instead of spinning out. Carta’s research caught my attention—data on convertible note extensions post-Series A and their success rate in reaching Series B. The companies I’ve founded have all done extensions because, frankly, building a business is rarely a straight line. When you need an extension, you need it. But the real planning happens earlier. That’s why I encourage founders to be disciplined about valuation creep early on. Unlike public companies, startups are often valued on revenue multiples and growth rate—but at the terminal stage, your valuation will be tied much more closely to discounted cash flows. Be mindful of this. Convertible bridges after a priced round seem to have a tough track record—only 3% of companies that raised one made it to Series B. Maybe they needed a major pivot but were already late in the game. Maybe they should have taken a down round. Or maybe they expected to exit soon and never planned to raise a Series B—but the data shows only 3% were actually acquired. While this data focuses on post-Series A and during 2019-2021, I suspect the dynamics are still directionally correct for post-A and post-Seed—potentially even more complicated due to convertible note stacking. I often hear founders with businesses ranging from $100k ARR to $2M ARR expecting high valuations at the Seed and Series A stage—and sometimes getting them. But taking capital at too aggressive a multiple can be dangerous. I get it—dilution optimization matters. But so does maintaining agency. If you optimize for dilution today but find yourself fundraising from a position of weakness later due to the inevitable bumps in the road, was it really optimization at all?

If you love the thrill of launching new products—but prefer doing it a dozen times a month—this might be your calling. Regal's hiring an AI Forward Deployed Engineer to bring powerful, customized AI Agents live into customer interactions. Forget just talking about AI’s potential—this role puts you at the heart of making AI-powered conversations a daily reality! #ProudInvestor Alex Levin Rebecca Greene

Venturing in Public - 3/13/25 - VC Sales & Marketing 101 It turns out being a VC is a sales and marketing job. I didn't fully understand this when I got into the industry over a decade ago :) There are so many parallels to the process and lingo we use and what I see I among our portfolio sales teams ... so here goes with a few. Feel free to comment on things I've missed or modifications! SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) → VC Equivalent: "Warm Founder Intro" or "High-Referral Founder" Prospecting → "Outbound email/calling" Pipeline → "Deal Flow" Closed-Won → "Invested" Churn → "Portfolio Write-Off" Product-Market Fit → "Oversubscribed fund!" Sales Cycle → "Due Diligence Timeline" Top of Funnel Marketing → PR, branding, large scale events, content marketing ... and LinkedIn posts ;) Midfunnel Marketing → 1:1 relationship building - coffees/dinners/small events CRM → CRM (we track all opportunities, founders, etc in a CRM just as a sales team would!) In the words of Glenngarry Glen Ross ... Always Be Closing!

Amanda Herson is all about term sheets and trend-setting! A great slice of life story from Melia Russell on the new carbohydrates powering NYC VCs. https://lnkd.in/eP6k4R3R